Even in Death
by atrophia sanguinis
Summary: The force bond between Kylo Ren and Rey endures through her death allowing him to see her once more when he thought he was truly alone. More of a rusty one-shot, might polish and make it longer if ideas come to me. Reylo.


She was dead.

Kylo Ren had killed her. He had thrusted his blade towards her chest, thinking that she would block it with his grandfather's lightsaber, hoping she would. But she hadn't been fast enough and it caught her by surprise. He remembered the expression on her face: surprise mixed with pain and then worst of all was the pity in her eyes when she looked up at before slumping forward.

Ren had extinguished his lightsaber and caught her in his arms, a strangled cry in his throat. What had he expected from a kill move? He had expected her to find a way to dodge, for the Force to move her against him as if they had been trained like equals.

Falling to his knees, he shifted her in his arms so he could see her face. Her eyes were already dulled but their was life in her small smile. It perplexed him. How could she smile at him as she was dying in his arms?

"Be seeing you, Ben Solo." Rey whispered. A soulless peace took over body and the light her eyes was completely extinguished.

It was all too much. Something was surging through him, making his eyes burn. Warm tears fell down his cheeks, some falling on his fallen foe's face. There was a sudden realization that he was now truly alone and a whimper escaped him as trembling fingers traced her face. This face that had scowled at him, that had shown she understood him later. This face that now had that soft smile forever etched in her features, like she knew something he didn't.

Be seeing you, Ben Solo.

Ben Solo.

He rested his face into the crook of her neck, hiding his tears as his shoulders shook with grief.

The Knights of Ren found their leader huddled over the corpse of a girl, humming a lost Alderaan lullaby to himself.

"Supreme Leader."

The humming stopped. "What?" The voice was sharp with its usual venom.

"The Resistance is eradicated. The First Order is victorious."

Kylo visibly stiffened and he dismissed his knights with a wave. They gave him space but stayed close enough in case they were called on. Kylo Ren retracted his head from Rey's neck and looked down at that faint smile. Ben Solo was gone, now forever doomed to walk the path of darkness as Kylo Ren after smothering the last ray of light in his life. And with her, the Resistance fell too.

* * *

It wasn't a month later after Kylo Ren named himself emperor over the galaxy that he realized he was haunted. He always carried the burden of those he felled, especially the heavier ones that were closer to his heart. Their faces came up in his dark nightmares repeatedly. At best, they stared. Worst, they died again before him.

Ren wasn't asleep this time around though. He was in his office, overlooking his desk where a holo of one his knights were reporting amiable relations with more planets in some other sector. He was very awake when he saw someone walk into the room. The Emperor was about to hiss an order to get out and that he wasn't to be disturbed until he actually looked up to see who it was.

Kylo Ren's eyes went wide as saucers and he immediately disconnected the holo. Rey stood there, across the room, regarding him curiously. They both didn't speak for minutes that stretched into eternity. Before he could even manage to pull together comprehensible thoughts, Rey spoke.

"I told you I'd be seeing you." She stated it matter-of-factly, there was no humor but there wasn't any bitterness either. This wasn't a joke. To make sure, Ren stood and walked over to her. Sure enough, she looked just as real as she had been when she was alive. Except for the blue glow that outlined her profile and the foolish hope in Ren's heart sputtered into smoke; it reminded him that she was definitely dead and he had definitely been the cause of it.

"Why are you still here? How can I see you?" The logical questions were the first to spout from his mouth, needing to know how this was possible. Being able to see force ghosts was a powerful Light trait, something he wasn't.

Rey shrugged and a flicker of humor crossed her eyes. "Maybe it's something to do with the Force. After all, there is no death. There is only-"

"The Force." He finished, his brows drawing together as he thought. They'd had a force bond in life. Had it somehow continued through death? Guilt washed through him as he barely whispered, "But why are you here?"

"Because, Ben Solo, you're not alone." Rey was looking up at him with that expression of determination that irked him sometimes. She was stubborn and would have blossomed in the Dark side. But, he had realized long ago, that would have ruined her. So he never offered her the dark side after realizing that. He had only wanted her at his side with a new order, the order he was starting to forge to this day. Neither Jedi or Sith.

"You're dead." He spoke stonily. He was alone even with a ghost. He couldn't be redeemed. Ben Solo was dead just as Rey was.

"That hasn't really stopped me from being here, has it." She was calm. Maybe she could even be considered patient, like a master with their padawan. Ren almost snorted out loud at the thought. Rey being the master of him?

A smile curved her lips. "You need a teacher." Ren was reminded that the bond was mental and he shielded his thoughts from her. That seemed to give her some form of satisfaction, out maneuvering her destined foe. He sighed. All feelings aside, she was still a ghost like the rest haunting him. Now, he had the pleasure of seeing her out of dreams though he could hardly say the feeling he has was pleasure. More like dread.

"Wouldn't you rather be somewhere else?" He asked miserably.

"Would you?" She countered. The verbal sparring caught him by surprise but not so much by how deep her question went. It almost confused him. Did she mean here with her? Or where he was in the present with the First Order, in victory with everything sacrificed?

"No." He admitted. Even with her here as a ghost, he knew that this had been what he wanted. This was how he was going to change things. This was where he needed to be in order to achieve this new order where there would no longer be opposing sides of Light vs Dark. It would be a mixture, gray. The only problem was that Kylo was embraced in darkness ever since a month ago. His conflict ran deeper than he cared to admit and submitting to the Dark was easier.

Kylo Ren had been looking out the windows of his office as he thought. Now he turned his gaze back on Rey who had been watching him unabashedly. Her boldness struck an idea. She always rose to meet him. Sometimes they clashed and other times they brushed against each other. Light rose to meet Dark. Maybe that was why the Force kept them connected. For the balance. For the gray.

He could feel it, the call of the Light. It had felt like an eternity since he'd felt even though it had been merely a month. He held out his hand calmly and she looked puzzled. "Teach me?" He asked. "Please." The meaning behind his question was filtered to her through their bond. Teach me the way back. Her side bubbled with glee. It was a pleasant feeling, her joy. Kylo Ren had never had the luxury to feel it nor could he allow himself to. But he allowed himself to feel pleased as she placed her hand in his, accepting his proposal. There was no First Order or Resistance to gamble anymore. Just the balance. They both struggled with Dark and Light but together they could balance each other out, they could be in the gray area Ren found himself in often.

Her hand gave a comforting squeeze, warm as if she was still living. A chill ran down his spine and another wave of guilt. He should've held back before, should've let her win. Everything would be different.

"You won't have to go back as far as you think, Ben." Rey said confidently, almost knowingly. She still baffled him with her sincerity. She still believed in him, even after what he had done, after seeing his demons. Perhaps he should start believing in himself as well.


End file.
